Continuing our countdown coverage in the lead up to the Supima Design Competition, here’s the remaining three finalists who will be presenting their capsule collections using Supima cotton fabrics via a digital video stream this Fashion Week.
The presentation can be viewed on @Supima via Instagram live on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. EST. Each year the competition supports emerging talent, pulling hopeful designers from the nation’s top fashion schools.
Plus! Check out their moodboards on our Insta Stories today to get fully immersed in all six finalists’ visions.
FINALIST 4: JENNY FENG, FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Jenny Feng
How did you become interested in fashion design?
I volunteered myself to make dance costumes for my friends in high school with no sewing experience! Seeing my bad sewing on stage was funny but satisfying. [Eventually] I figured out how to sew on a sewing machine and my grandma’s caretaker showed me how to install a zipper.
What’s the theme of your Supima capsule collection?
My collection, Domesticity, is my exploration of the dichotomy between protection and chaos. By manipulating and distorting Supima fabric, I hope to explore a new landscape in design. The inspirations from my designs usually come from a vulnerable side of me that I want to explore.
What do you think distinguishes you as a designer?
My attention to detail, unconventional approach to design, use of materials, and willingness to take a risk. I volunteered at NYFW gallery and I sat front row. When designs were walking down the runway, I thought to myself, “I want my designs to be up there.” And after that show, I started my application to FIT. My ideal job would be to have my own label, but I don’t mind having a design position in a luxury womenswear brand.
Sketches of Jenny’s Supima capsule collection
FINALIST 5: SAKURA MIZUTANI, FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN & MERCHANDISING
Sakura Mizutani
How did you end up at FIDM?
As a child growing up in Japan, I loved to create art and as I grew up I thought I wanted to become a fashion designer. When I first came to Los Angeles, I lived with a homestay family and my host mother used to be a fashion designer. She told me about FIDM and after that, I decided to apply. I thought FIDM had a good environment to study fashion when I took a tour. Also, there are programs [in which] I can challenge myself, such as THE DEBUT program and Chairing Styles.
Tell us about the theme of your Supima capsule collection.
It’s called SHIKI which means four seasons in Japanese. There are four distinct seasons in Japan. I designed seasonal flowers and landscapes to express the seasons. I think each person has their own memories of each month and each season, and thereby lives according to the seasons. This collection expresses people’s feelings and memories of each one. Therefore, I designed shapes like photo frames to express each memory and keep it inside of a frame. I want people to feel the four seasons in my collection. Also, my parents named me Sakura, which means cherry-blossoms in Japanese. They named me Sakura because they wanted me to be known and loved by many people like Japanese cherry-blossoms. I thought if I used Japanese seasons for my theme, I could repay my parents who helped me so much with my collection.
Sakura’s sketches for her Supima capsule collection
Did you experience any challenges during this design process?
In the past, I was not sure if my designs were good enough for me because I am my harshest critic. I needed to build my confidence in what I was designing. To overcome this, I am not afraid to create something and re-design it after receiving feedback from my instructors. I learned that it is completely fine to re-do my work until I learn to satisfy my instructors and future customers.
FINALIST 6: KYRA BUENVIAJE, RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN
Kyra Buenviaje
You seem to have been interested in fashion design all your life. How did you end up studying design in the States?
It’s all I’ve known! In kindergarten they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. While my classmates said, ‘Fireman. Princess. Teacher.’ I said, ‘Fashion designer!’ It’s all I’ve wanted to pursue and I am grateful for an incredible support system. I did two and a half years taking a Bachelor of Science in Clothing Technology in the Philippines and I took a semester studying Fashion Design and Textiles at RMIT in Australia. Then I came to RISD as a 2nd semester sophomore.
And you’ve garnered some awards along the way too.
I was a full scholar in my prior schools. In 2016, I represented my school in the Philippines for a young designer showcase for Metro Magazine. And I was a finalist at the MET College Design Competition for the “Heavenly Bodies” exhibition. I also won a scholarship for my case study for the Fashion Scholarship Fund last year.
Tell us about the theme of your Supima capsule collection.
I am a womenswear designer with a menswear tailoring lens and currently I specialize in denim. The name of the collection is Abyss. It will put into eveningwear the natural and unchartered outdoors. It was prompted by feeling isolated in a home during this pandemic. I just wanted to go outside. So in an alternate world, what if we were isolated outdoors, in the deep forests? We could not get inside our houses. What kind of freedom, density, massiveness will we be surrounded with? I really zoom into the textures of the deep forests and mimic them through fabric manipulation. When it comes to the silhouette and drape of the clothing, I will always revert back to what I feel when I stand in that environment. Big massive trees and mountains surround me. I can run free around all the open space and all I smell is the freshness of nature’s untouched state.
Sketches of Kyra’s Supima capsule collection
All videos by Titre Provisoire.
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